Implementing the Social Investment Package Concetta CULTRERA DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion

Social Investment Package Policy Framework (I) Investing early and preventatively in order to ensure that people live up to their full potential Child policies, including early childhood education and care (ECEC) Prevention of early-school-leaving Youth guarantee schemes Active ageing Health prevention and promotion

Influence of early education policies on PISA assessment scores OECD (2012) Score point increase in PISA reading assessment tests

More accessible early childhood education and care is also linked to greater female employment rates Share of children aged 0-3 in formal childcare and employment rates of women with young children (2010)

Social Investment Package Policy Framework (II) Joining up adequate benefits and enabling services to support people's inclusion in society and the labour market Adequate income support Quality services (affordable care services, housing, transport, basic bank accounts) Activating and enabling servicies to prepare (re)entry in the labour market (jobsearch assistance, lifelong learning, upskilling) Promoting inclusive labour markets Addressing workplace discrimination Flexible working arrangements Adapted workplaces

The relationship between activating policies and persistence of unemployment

Adequacy of social transfers and the persistence of poverty

Social Investment Package Policy Framework (III) Simplifying the administration of benefits and services to avoid unnecessary overlaps and make it easier to access support One-stop-shops to access benefits/services Removing tax-benefit disincentives to entering the labour market and addressing poverty traps Creating tax and benefit incentives to make work pay Tapering income thresholds of means-tested benefits

Implementation Primarily at Member State level National, regional, and local authorities Social Partners, NGOs, social enterprises, civil society, etc. The degree of responsibility varies depending on how social policies are organised The EU supports and complements the activities of the Member States. Guidance, monitoring, exchange of good practices, financial support

Specific Commission activities Studies and pilot projects - Call for proposals to support integrated social service delivery Analytical support -Methodology for designing reference budgets Monitoring of social developments -Developing poverty maps with the World Bank to identify local and regional pockets of disadvantage Knowledge-sharing activities - Social Investment Knowledge Platform

EU Funds European Social Fund Main budgetary instrument for supporting structural reform and investment across EU Member States in the area of employment and social policy. Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived Addressing extreme forms of material deprivation Programme for Employment and Social Innovation Supporting social policy innovation with the aim of scaling up successful programmes Micro-financing to provide start-ups for entrepreneurs Supporting EU-level NGO networks that provide a bridge between on-the-ground activities and EU-level policies

To conclude….

For more information… Social Investment Package 807&furtherNews=yes Policy Roadmap for the Implementation of the Social Investment Package Investing in Social Europe brochure &type=2&furtherPubs=yes Social Europe guide – Social policies Social Europe guide - Social economy and social entrepreneurship